It was hot. Not just hot, it was scorching. The volcano known as the Demon's Ingle would certainly prove to be a very interesting battleground. They were traversing up the side of the mountain, liquid hot magma either side of them. Robin needed something to keep his mind from wondering how many of the Shepherds would die to the lava. The perfect thing was walking right in front of him.
"Hey Freddy!" The stoic knight turned to face the smirking tactician.
"That nickname is reserved for Cherche and the royal household."
"What, aren't I part of the 'royal household'? I am married to Lissa."
The knight sighed in defeat. "Your point is valid. Did you only wish to try my patience, or was there something you wanted?"
"Actually, yes to both. I wanted to know how it went with Cherche. What happened?"
"It went… well." Frederick's face barely managed to contain his smile.
"Frederick, that's wonderful! I knew she'd say yes!"
"Please, Robin, not so loud. I wish for this to remain covert for as long as possible."
"Okay, okay… wait, YOU wish for this to remain covert?"
His face turned a deep shade of red. "Er, yes. I do not want Lord Chrom to worry about our wedding, so I feel it best-"
"Frederick, tell him. He needs something good to distract him from this horrid war, just like how I came to talk to you. Plus, Lissa would get it out of me pretty quick."
"Excellent point. I shall tell him as soon as-"
"No, tell him now! Trust me, it's always best to tell Chrom something happy as soon as it comes up. That's why he was so eager to host my wedding."
"Very well." Frederick sighed and walked in the direction of the blue-haired exalt.
"Hey! What were you two talking about?" Lissa, either just or twice as sweaty as Robin, walked up beside him. Evidently, she also needed something to keep her mind off the heat.
"Oh, nothing… just Frederick and Cherche's wedding." Robin smirked at the dropped jaw of his wife.
"What?! Really?! That's amazing! I have to tell Chrom right now!" Robin grabbed her arm as she began to run forward, and simply nodded his head in the man in question's direction. Frederick was now just behind the Exalt, waiting for him to be done talking with Cynthia.
"Already taken care of." Frederick looked back at Robin, who merely waved his hand, ushering the knight forward. Robin couldn't hear the conversation, but he could tell when it ended; Chrom wrapped his arm around Frederick and gave a laugh that could be heard throughout the line of Shepherds. "I think it went well."
The inside of the burning mountain was even worse than Robin could have imagined. Not only was it scorchingly hot due to the copious amounts of lava coursing between the rocks underfoot, but there were also numerous Valmese soldiers headed by Yen'fay himself. The soldiers seemed to be his personal guard, as they were all wearing ornate armour and had extremely menacing weapons. Robin noticed that Yen'fay was surveying the battlefield in the exact same way; determining what course of action would guarantee victory. The only difference: Yen'fay was smiling. Evidently, he knew something that Robin did not. That was when Robin saw it. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a rock move. Upon closer inspection, it wasn't a rock at all; it was some form of giant, armoured lizard with an enormous flat, red tail. And there wasn't just one; they dotted the landscape, generally sticking close to the lava, seemingly allying themselves with the Valmese. Great. More "friends" of Link's. I hope he knows how to deal with them.
"Link, I believe some of your buddies have joined us." Robin pointed to one of the creatures, and saw Link tighten the grip on his blade. "Do you have to beat them, or can we help?" Link merely smiled, and took off. "I don't know what that means!" His words were lost on the green warrior. "Chrom, can you go with him? Try to find out how to beat those things while you're at it."
"Tell me you have a plan."
"Don't I always?" Robin gave a cheeky grin to the blue-haired exalt as he sped off, shaking his head. Robin then turned back to the other Shepherds. "Lucina, you and Owain take Lon'qu, Maribelle, Nowi and Ricken up the left side. Lissa, you and Morgan take Vaike, Sully, Stahl and Olivia up the right; we're going to try a flanking maneuver. Frederick, Cherche, Cynthia and I will take the middle. No heroics." Robin looked directly at Cynthia as he said this, who tried to hide behind her pegasus' head.
Their time in the volcano was an uphill battle. The rocks around them slowly degraded from the intense heat, so they had to constantly keep on the move lest they end up in the molten rocks below. The Valmese soldiers also didn't help. They were vicious; unrelenting in their brutal attacks. If it hadn't been for Cynthia, Robin would have lost his arm in a scrap with one of the swordsmasters. During the fights against the Valmese, Robin had learned some very interesting things about the giant lizards. First, they could shoot fire. Second, their armoured scales were almost impenetrable to every weapon they had. Third, the tails were vulnerable. Chrom had shouted this to him from across the field, unfortunately making every single one of the creatures and Valmese head in their direction. Robin could only facepalm and attempt to direct attention back at his squad.
They made their slow way past the explode-upon-death creatures and the extremely tough Valmese soldiers, eventually ending up at Yen'fay. The swordsmaster dressed in black stared at the oncoming Shepherds without so much as blinking.
"Yen'fay!" He looked over and saw Chrom, a green boy in tow, rushing up to him. "You are a fool to follow Walhart!"
"I merely follow the strongest leader."
"We don't want to harm you. We know your sister, Say'ri. She wants you to defy Walhart just as much as us."
"So she is safe…"
"Yes, she is. Please, Yen'fay, join us. I don't want to have to kill you."
"You presume much, prince. I am not so easily killed." Yen'fay fell into a battle stance, challenging the blue royalty before him. Chrom went into his usual battle stance as well. Their blades clashed in a flurry of sparks that put the lava around them to shame. The sounds of steel against steel rang throughout the volcano as the blades clashed again and again, each strike blocked by the opposing sword. Robin and Cynthia flew over to the duelling… duo in order to try and give Chrom the upper hand. Yen'fay saw the flying horse approach as he once again locked blades with the exalt.
"Do not interfere!" He made a hand signal to something unseeable. From the surprising amount of darkness behind him, thunderous footsteps made the ground beneath Chrom and Yen'fay tremble. When Robin saw what had made the footsteps, he had to suspend his disbelief. Out of the dark strode a knight encased in black armour sporting a massive shield and even bigger sword. Intimidating armaments aside, that was not what made Robin suspend his disbelief; it was the sheer size of it. It was twice the size of Yen'fay, and he was not a short man. "Deal with the intruders!"
"Cynthia, move!" She heeded the call of the tactician as the enormous sword sailed past the riders and their mount.
"Um… Uncle? How are we supposed to stop that thing?!"
"I don't know, but it looks like he does!" Robin pointed to Link, sword drawn, rushing at the gigantic knight. Its slow-moving attitude was no match for Link's incredible speed. With one intense strike, Link tore a piece off of the monster's armour, making it falter for the briefest of seconds. That was all Robin would need. "Cynthia, do exactly what Link did, but aim for the chest piece!"
"You got it!" Cynthia swooped down towards the massive foe, avoiding the immense sword. Her first onslaught of attacks did little to weaken the armour, only seeming to enrage the monstrous warrior. Link's blade struck it again, this time only bouncing off the immense shield.
"Aim for the straps!" Cynthia once again charged towards the black knight while it had its back turned, this time heading for a miniscule opening on its shoulder. A loud snap resounded as her lance hit the gigantic being. As they backed away, Cynthia took a fearful glance down at her lance, and saw that it was intact. An enormous thud echoed around them as the chestpiece of the knight fell to the ground. Now or never. Robin pulled a tome from his robes, and took aim at the dark shape. "Rexcalibur!" A torrent of wind escaped his hand and headed towards the opening on the knight's chest. It swirled around it, ripping the armour from its body. Underneath was, seemingly, another knight in red with a smaller sword around its waist. It still had the enormous sword, which it threw at Link. He narrowly dodged the projectile, and looked up to Robin and Cynthia in thanks.
"Look out!" Cynthia was the only one to see the now much speedier knight rush towards Link, smaller sword drawn. Link blocked the incoming attack with his shield, making it stumble. He took the opportunity to roll around behind it and slash up its back, making it elicit a horrifying sound of pain. It turned and swung at Link again, only for the attack to be dodged by Link's smaller frame. Link tried his luck at the same attack, but was deflected by the knight. There was another brief sword against shield moment before Link rolled away from the knight. Then he did something that made Robin question his sanity and Cynthia gasp. He sheathed his weapons. The knight charged at the green warrior, who remained completely still. The knight was almost upon Link, sword aimed directly at his heart. Cynthia turned away, but Robin continued to look on. In the blink of an eye, Link had drawn his sword and brought it down across the giant's face, practically cleaving it in two. A horrendous scream rang out through the volcano, stopping every fight in its tracks. Yen'fay finally managed to show an emotion other than smug, and stood with a look of surprise on his face. It was a distraction that Chrom needed. With one swift motion, Chrom managed to plunge his blade through Yen'fay's heart. He withdrew it and the man turned to the Exalt, a smile on his face.
"Keep Say'ri safe…" He fell to his knees and collapsed to the ground, his last breath escaping his lifeless body. Robin and Cynthia alighted next to the saddened exalt, Link running up behind.
"We did it! We're heroes!" Chrom could only give a half-hearted smile at his daughter's enthusiasm.
"Yeah…" He looked back to the body of Yen'fay, face becoming sullen once again. "But at what cost?"
A/N: This chapter was tough. Up until now, this story has been very fun to write, but this chapter wasn't filled with 'feel-good' moments (well, except for the beginning). Yen'fay's death is always a very sad thing, especially considering that it's always unavoidable. Oh, and I hope my attempt at integrating both Dodongos and Darknuts was respectable. Anyway, as always, if you have any questions, concerns or suggestions, don't be afraid to PM or review. Getting help always encourages me to write more, so interacting is a win-win!